Monday, August 20, 2012

Downtown El Paso Parade, 1890s

Downtown El Paso, 1890s, click on the photo for a closer look!

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Wagons and horses, folks watching from the balconies, parasols and hats, there's lots to see in this parade photo from the 1890s. In the center, El Paso's downtown plaza, in center back, the Vendome Hotel.

We just love this photo of downtown El Paso, found for us by the El Paso County Historical Society for our social media storytelling project in June. From time to time, we collect content about true stories in our region--in this case, the story of the first woman to ride her bicycle around the world and her visit during that trip to El Paso in 1895--and share them with all of you on the Daily Photo, our Facebook page, and our Twitter feed. The Vendome Hotel was where Annie Londonderry stayed while in El Paso!

We'll be sharing more stories this year on our social media channel, including right here on the Daily Photo...look for "Dining Along Historic Highways," the "Craft of Boot Making," and "the Civilian Conservation Corps," coming up!

3 comments:

•The Central Hotel (now the White House/Centre Bldg location approx.) burned down in 1896 (July 4th) therefore this photo must be before 1896.

• The 4-story Sheldon Block Office Building (approx where Plaza Hilton Hotel now stands) was built in 1888 therefore this photo must be after 1888.

•The 3-story Grand Central Hotel (where Mills Bldg now stands) was given a 4th floor in 1890. The visible roofline decorations (visible behind and above the word HOTEL) are from the 3-story Grand Central therefore this photo is on or before 1890.

•The “we are only 6 years old” banner is possibly referring to the Grand Central Hotel which was built in 1883. If so, this photo is in 1889.

(I'm going to guess that this photo was taken in the Summer of 1889 based on the summer shadows & leafy trees).